Pushing Back on Money Politics, 2012

The League of Women Voters of Massachusetts has joined with Rootstrikers (http://www.rootstrikers.org), a grassroots project of Fund for the Republic, a nonpartisan, nonprofit foundation, in uniting our efforts to reduce the influence of money in politics.

We welcome the opportunity to partner with our local Leagues and Rootstrikers to develop co- sponsored speaker programs that address the most pressing problem our country faces -- money in politics and its undue and corrupting influence in campaign financing, our elections and the running of our government.

If you would like additional information on this co-sponsorship collaboration or in structuring a speaker series or panel discussion, please contact your LWVMA Field Service Representative or Dee Ortner (pushingback@lwvcc.org).

Download the complete announcement

Coverage of the Pushing Back on Money Politics, 2012 Forum at CCHS on the evening of May 17, 2012:

Concord Patch story on May 21, 2012
Concord Journal story on May 24, 2012
Concord Mosquito story on May 25, 2012 (see pp. 5-6)

What's behind all the talk about big spending in the 2012 political campaigns? Is money putting our democracy at risk? Join the conversation!

Pushing Back on Money Politics, 2012
Thursday, May 17, 7:30-9:30 p.m.
Concord-Carlisle High School
500 Walden Street, Concord, MA
No reserved seating. Doors open at 7:00 p.m.
Free and open to the public
Download: Event flyer Press Release
Letter to Editor

Joining moderator Tom Ashbrook, Host of On Point (a production of 90.9 WBUR, Boston's NPR news station), will be a panel of experts:

• Lawrence Lessig, Roy L. Furman Professor of Law and Leadership, Harvard Law School, and Director of the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University
• Jeff Clements, attorney and author of Corporations Are Not People
• Mimi Marziani, Counsel for the Democracy Program at the Brennan Center for Justice, New York University School of Law.
  See moderator and speaker bios [link to bios section of page] below.

Pushing Back on Money Politics, 2012, will engage the audience in an evening of inquiry and education focused on the new campaign finance landscape. Questions from the audience will be taken after the panel discussion.

In 2012, money is playing an ever-larger role in politics. Wealthy interests pour millions into SuperPAC-funded ads attacking presidential candidates, spending on campaign-related advertising has skyrocketed to historic heights, and citizens wonder whether their voices and concerns have gotten lost in the partisan din. The May 17 forum will help answer the question, "What's a concerned voter to do?"

Pushing Back on Money Politics, 2012 is co-sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Concord-Carlisle (LWVCC), the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts, and 90.9 WBUR. It is part of a LWVCC project, Democracy in the Balance: Money, Speech & Power.

For more information, contact PushingBack@lwvcc.org or 978-254-1598. Download: event flyer and press release.

DISCUSS
Democracy in the Balance: Money, Speech & Power
The League of Women Voters is holding discussions on the issues our panelists grappled with at the May 17th forum. Part of the Concord-Carlisle League's Democracy in the Balance project, the discussions are open to all. To learn more or to sign up for a Democracy in the Balance discussion, contact FTM@lwvcc.org. (FTM is our acronym for Follow The Money.)

A kit for LWVs that wish to hold Democracy in the Balance discussions is available. Contact FTM@lwvcc.org for more information.

EXPLORE
Dive into the vast resources on money in politics available on the Internet. To get you started, check out our Links to Learn More.

RESOURCE FOR LEAGUES
Leagues of Women Voters across the country can request a copy of the video of "Pushing Back on Money Politics, 2012" by contacting PushingBack@lwvcc.org.

http://www.lwv.org/our-work/improving-elections/money-in-elections - A direct link to the League of Women Voters efforts in addressing money in elections.

The following links are provided to encourage exploration of the issue of money in elections. Links below may express views different from the positions of the League of Women Voters.

http://www.rootstrikers.org - A grassroots project of United Republic (http://www.unitedrepublic.org), created to curb the undue influence of corporate lobbyists over the US political process, Rootstrikers began as a project of Fix Congress First.

http://www.brennancenter.org - The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law is a nonpartisan public policy and law institute that focuses on the fundamental issues of democracy and justice.

http://www.freespeechforpeople.org - Free Speech for People is a national, nonpartisan campaign working to restore democracy to the people and to return corporations to their place as economic rather than political entities.

http://www.onpointradio.org - "On Point," hosted by Tom Ashbrook is a production of 90.9 WBUR Boston for National Public Radio, featuring a range of topics including campaign spending.

http://www.campaignlegalcenter.org - The Campaign Legal Center is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization which works in the areas of campaign finance and elections, political communication and government ethics.

http://www.commoncause.org - Common Cause is a nonpartisan, nonprofit advocacy organization founded in 1970 as a vehicle for citizens to make their voices heard in the political process and to hold their elected leaders accountable to the public interest.

http://www.democracy21.org - Democracy 21, and its education arm, Democracy 21 Education Fund, work to eliminate the undue influence of big money in American politics and to ensure the integrity and fairness of government decisions and elections.

http://www.ncsl.org/legislatures-elections/elections/campaign-finance-reform-links.aspx - The website for the National Conference of State Legislatures provides links on campaign finance reform.

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/01292010/campaignfinance.html - This website provides information on campaign finance and lobbying resources.

Tom Ashbrook Host, On Point Tom Ashbrook is an award-winning journalist who joined 90.9 WBUR, Boston's NPR News Station, following the attacks of September 11, 2001, after a distinguished career in newspaper reporting and editing. He spent ten years reporting from Asia and also served as The Boston Globe's deputy managing editor. On Point reaches more than 1.3 million listeners each week. The show is heard on more than 230 radio stations across the country, and ranks as the top-rated podcast for call-in shows produced by an NPR member station.

On Point is a production of 90.9 WBUR, Boston for NPR. Visit On Point at http://www.onpointradio.org, on Facebook and Twitter @OnPointRadio.

Lawrence Lessig Roy L. Furman Professor of Law and Leadership, Harvard Law School and Director of the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University Lawrence Lessig is the Roy L. Furman Professor of Law and Leadership at Harvard Law School, and director of the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University. Prior to rejoining the Harvard faculty, Lessig was a professor at Stanford Law School, where he founded the school's Center for Internet and Society, and at the University of Chicago. He clerked for Judge Richard Posner on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals and Justice Antonin Scalia on the United States Supreme Court.

Lessig serves on the Board of Creative Commons, MapLight, Brave New Film Foundation, The American Academy, Berlin, AXA Research Fund and iCommons.org, and on the advisory board of the Sunlight Foundation. He is a Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Association, and has received numerous awards, including the Free Software Foundation's Freedom Award, Fastcase 50 Award and being named one of Scientific American's Top 50 Visionaries.

Lessig also founded Rootstrikers, a grassroots project of United Republic, a nonprofit foundation created to curb the undue influence of corporate lobbyists over the US political process.

Lessig holds a BA in economics and a BS in management from the University of Pennsylvania, an MA in philosophy from Cambridge, and a JD from Yale.

Jeff Clements Co-founder and General Counsel of Free Speech for People and Author of Corporations Are Not People Jeff Clements is co-founder and general counsel of Free Speech for People, a national, non-partisan campaign to overturn Citizens United v. FEC and strengthen American democracy and republican self-government. He is the author of Corporations Are Not People (Berrett-Koehler 2012). Jeff previously served as Assistant Attorney General and Chief of the Public Protection Bureau in the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office. As Bureau Chief, he led more than 100 attorneys and staff in the enforcement of environmental, healthcare, financial services, civil rights, antitrust and consumer protection laws. In private practice, Jeff has been a partner in the Boston law firms of Mintz Levin and Clements & Clements, LLP. He graduated with distinction in History and Government from Colby College in 1984, and magna cum laude from the Cornell Law School in 1988.

Mimi Murray Digby Marziani Counsel, Democracy Program, Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law Mimi Murray Digby Marziani serves as counsel for the Democracy Program of the Brennan Center for Justice where her work focuses on money in politics, voting rights and legislative dysfunction. In this role, Marziani litigates campaign finance and voting rights cases, plays an active role in the Brennan Center's policy advocacy efforts on these issues, and leads the Center's filibuster reform efforts.

Marziani frequently writes on democracy issues, and has contributed opinion editorials to U.S. News and World Report, The National Law Journal, Politico, The New York Law Journal, among others. She has been a featured speaker in a range of academic, media and political forums, including at the influential Netroots Nation conference in July 2010. In September 2010, Marziani was invited to testify on the constitutionality of filibuster reform before the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration.

Marziani also serves an NYU adjunct professor at NYU's Wagner School of Public Service, teaching undergraduate students about how constitutional law influences public policy debates.

From September 2008 to May 2010, in addition to her work at the Brennan Center, Marziani taught undergraduate students about the U.S. Constitution at NYU's campus in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Prior to joining the Brennan Center, she clerked for Magistrate Judge James C. Francis, IV in the Southern District of New York.

Marziani graduated cum laude from NYU School of Law in 2008. There, she was an editor of Review of Law and Social Change and founded the school's Alternative Spring Break program + a student group that facilitates week-long public interest internships for law students. Marziani was awarded the university-wide NYU Presidents Service Award as well as the Dean John Sexton Prize for Service to the Law School.

Marziani received a B.A., magna cum laude, from Vanderbilt University in English literature and psychology

We thank the following local businesses for their generous donations of food and beverages for after the program:

Contact PushingBack@lwvcc.org or call 978-254-1598.